The Wilds - Black Water in Blackpool

"Stand back, just in case," says Raúguey, hefting the crowbar and eyeing the bar-lined door at the end of the water-filled hall. When the others nod their ready state, he jams the bar into the gap by the lock, and heaves. There's a creak, and then a sudden SCREE-SNAP as the lock mechanism twists, then breaks in the rusted frame. The door sloooshes inward then grinds to a stop against the submerged floor.

Photo of the Week - Mantis Makeover!

Today's photos were taken in my back yard. The first is about a month old; the second I took just a couple days ago. I'm fairly sure both these shots are of the same praying mantis (it's not like my yard has a ton of hiding places for big insects.

Young Mantis on Sage

Older and Wiser Mantis on Basil

Images copyright Mark A. Thomas
Creative Commons CC BY-NC 3.0

Wilds - Back to the Dungeon!

With a clear course of action in front of them, the party, at the urging of Saurabh and Raúguey, elect to spend a day exploring the area around the current camp to see if they can find a better site for the mules and guards. The old fire pit and trails in the ruins have made folk cautious. Leaving the camp in place and guarded by the usual suspects, the main party heads out to explore, using the old road as a guide, but diverting off the rough path to investigate anything interesting.

The Wilds - Blackpool at Last?

Last turn the party found a ruin beside a vast lake, about where Vukota told them they'd find it. Could it actually be Blackpool Maze?

Photo of the Week - See?

I told you Indiana was kind of flat.

I took this on the drive out to one of my favorite little nature preserves, Weiler-Leopold / Black Rock Barrens, part of the Niches Land Trust. It's obvious Autumn is on the way. Lots of old and dying flower heads around.

But not everyone has given up on summer yet.

Images copyright Mark A. Thomas
Creative Commons CC BY-NC 3.0

Wilds - Hey Look! Ruins!

A few turns have passed, and not without incident. After discovering the skull on a stick and some other signs of activity, the party decided to attempt contact with whoever / whatever was encamped in the fortified cave they'd found. Leaving the bulk of the group at the camp near the little clearing, Maro, Mordikarr, Ingvild, and Dagmarten retraced the trail north to spy out the cave and see who they were dealing with, hopefully without being seen...

Dungeons in Blue - Edges and Alcoves Set One Released

I've been on a mapping tear lately, so here's another set of virtual tabletop geomorph tiles ready to roll! Dungeons in Blue Edges and Alcoves Set One contains twelve unique map tiles rendered at 100px per five-foot square (now with magma!). It includes two versions of each tile, one for players and one for GMs. The GM's version shows additional features, tricks, and traps. This set includes (EA1-EA12):

• Six 50x50 foot tiles, all with a single entry side.
• Six 50x100 foot tiles, all with a single entry side.
• A map legend image detailing all map markup.
• A one-third scale summary map showing all tiles.
• A short readme PDF.

These tiles are all edge pieces, meaning the standard entry and exit points appear only on one side of the tile. All geomorph dungeons need to end eventually, don't they? Here's the one-third scale summary sheet of all geomorphs in this set.

And don't forget, you can still get Dungeons in Blue Icon Pack One at a 25% discount right here. This offer expires September 15th.